The Game
by peytona05
Summary: Danny spends a rare day off as an unknown hostage in a bank holdup, tryng to protect the gunman's stepdaughter. Rated T, for some child abuse.
1. Chapter 1

They say there are days you remember for the rest of your life…the day you get engaged or the day your mother passes away. Good or bad, there's always a reason why we remember some days over others.

Danny Williams' most recent day off was one of those days, though part of him might just as soon forget it. It was his first day off in several weeks, and he was desperate for the twenty-four hours free from work. Little did he know that it would involve a bank robbery, a ten-year-old little girl, and the most dangerous game of hide-and-seek he would ever play.

The day began like any other; Danny was up early and went for a run around the block. After a quick shower, he sat at his kitchen table with a cup of coffee and the morning paper.

_Uh-oh_, he thought. _There's another headline about that cat burglar we've been after. Boy, I'll be glad when that case is over. Sports, sports…here we go. Let's see, who won the fights last night? Oh, wow. Too bad I'm not a gambler; I'd have made a fortune. Hmm, politics…I think I'll hold onto that section until I'm in a really good mood. That reminds me, where are the funnies? There they are…best part of the paper. Now, what about the weather?_

Danny soon finished perusing the paper, stood, and walked over to the sink to rinse out his coffee cup. He then made his way over to the telephone to call Steve. Knowing his boss, he likely had slept at the office, trying to pull an all nighter.

He heard Steve pick up on the second ring. "McGarrett."

"Steve, it's Danny. Any new leads on that cat burglar?"

"No, Danno, nothing at all. You all right?"

"Everything's fine…just wanted to let you know I'll be running errands most of the day, so if something comes up, you'll have a better chance of reaching me by radio than by phone."

"Got it," Steve answered. "Thanks for the heads up. Enjoy your day off."

Danny smiled. "I plan on it. See you tomorrow."

He returned the phone to its cradle, then checked his pockets for both his keys and his wallet. As he left his apartment, Danny whistled nonchalantly.

_Okay, first stop…the bank._

xXxXx

Emily struggled to free herself from her stepfather's grasp, stumbling along behind him as he walked to the car.

"Poppy, please…please don't make me go," she cried. "Poppy - ow, you're hurting me!"

He opened the car door and almost flung the child into the back seat. Slamming the door behind her, he stormed around to the driver's side and climbed in.

"Poppy, I don't wanna go. Please let me stay home," Emily begged.

Her stepfather reached back and slapped her. "Shut up! I told you, you was grounded this week. I don't want you sneaking off to Mary Jane's house, like you told her you would."

Tears ran down Emily's face, stinging her cheek where she'd been hit. "I'm sorry, Poppy; I forgot. I can call her back and tell her I can't come over. Please don't make me go with you."

"Forget it," he said as he cranked the car and put it in reverse. "With your mom and work, I'm not about to leave you home alone to maybe break the rules. You're coming, whether you like it or not."

Emily stifled a sob, deciding against trying to get him to change his mind. He'd only hit her again, and it would be much harder next time. So she sat in the back seat, crying silently and wondering what her step dad planned to do with the ski mask and the burlap bag he'd tossed into the seat beside him.

xXxXx

Danny pulled into the parking lot and looked for an empty space. He was surprised at how busy the bank was this morning, and had almost talked himself into trying again later when he spotted a car backing out of a parking spot. Danny drove his car that direction and claimed the space as his own.

As he walked toward the building, he glanced around for the bank manager's vehicle.

Danny had met the old man, Mr. Edwin, a few years before at his favorite fishing spot, and they'd been friends ever since. Every so often they would make plans to go fishing together, and though that was not the case today, Danny at least wanted to chat with Mr. Edwin, just to make sure he was doing all right.

Danny didn't see the old man's car, but he knew it was possible that he'd simply overlooked it.

_Oh well, if he's here, that's great. If not, I'll just have to try and catch him some other time._

Danny walked through the double doors and up to the nearest available teller window. Even though he did all of his banking here, he occasionally had trouble remembering certain employees' names, and he had to glance at the young girl's name tag before speaking to her.

"Good morning, Joy," he said cheerfully.

She returned his smile. "Hello, Mr. Williams. How may I help you?"

"I was actually wondering if Mr. Edwin has come in yet?" He saw a brief look of worry cross Joy's face and he hurried to add, "Nothing's wrong. Mr. Edwin and I are fishing buddies, and I just stopped by to say hello."

Joy's expression changed to one of relief. "I haven't seen him, but feel free to come to the back and look for yourself."

She moved to the swinging partition and opened it from her side to let Danny in.

"Mr. Edwin's office is the last door on the left," she said as she pointed down the hall.

"_Mahalo_," Danny replied.

"You're welcome, Mr. Williams. Enjoy your visit with Mr. Edwin."

xXxXx

Emily remained quiet as her stepfather pulled into the bank's parking lot. He parked the car and reached over to grab the ski mask and the burlap bag, then turned to look at Emily.

"Stay in the car, you hear? Don't get out. I'll be back in a few minutes."

Emily nodded her head and watched him leave, thinking about the arguments he and her mother had gotten into over the last few weeks…something about money and expensive jewelry and giving "it" back. What was he up to, and why did he need a ski mask?

Being only ten years old, Emily's better judgment was soon overtaken by her curiosity. She exited the car and made her way to the building, hoping to find out exactly what her stepfather was doing.

xXxXx

Danny, unable to locate Mr. Edwin, returned to the lobby and was about to ask Joy for some stationary, when a man came in wearing a ski mask. In one hand he held a burlap bag; in the other was a gun.

Danny immediately ducked behind the counter, hoping that the gunman had not seen him standing there.

He was sitting by Joy's feet, and as Danny listened to the man bark orders for everyone to sit on the floor and for Joy to fill the bag, he saw Joy's foot gracefully put pressure on the trigger for a silent alarm.

_Good thinking, Joy. Now just keep calm, and don't do anything foolish. The cops will be here soon, and they'll get us out of here._ Danny sighed. _And here I am, a cop in the middle of a bank holdup, and I don't have my gun._

That led Danny to another thought. _Not only do I not have my gun…Steve doesn't know I'm here._


	2. Chapter 2

Danny waited silently behind the counter, straining to hear the distant wail of sirens and desperately trying to come up with a plan to disarm the gunman without someone getting hurt. He was surprised - and somewhat dismayed - to hear not a siren, but a young child's voice cry out, "Poppy…what are you doing?"

xXxXx

Emily couldn't believe her eyes. There was her stepfather, wearing the ski mask and waving a gun in the air. A lady behind the counter was holding the bag, and she looked scared.

"Poppy, what are you doing?" Emily asked again. "Why do you have that gun?"

He marched over to the girl, and with his free hand, he yanked her by the arm toward the counter.

"I told you wait in the car!" he shouted as he pointed the gun at the swinging partition. "Now get back there, and I don't wanna hear another peep out of you! And you" - he looked at Joy again - "where's that money?"

xXxXx

Danny caught Joy's eye and motioned for her not to give his position away. Then he nodded for her to do as the man said. As Joy headed for the vault, Danny gestured for the little girl to crawl towards him.

When she was sitting close enough, Danny whispered, "Did I hear you call him Poppy?"

She nodded. "He's my step dad."

"Where's your mother?"

The child sniffed and wiped away her tears. "At work."

Danny reached his hand out and gently placed it on her shoulder. "Sweetheart, we're going to be just fine. The cops are on their way, and they'll get us out of here. Now, what's your name?"

She sniffed again. "Emily."

He smiled. "Emily…that's a pretty name. My name is Danny, and everything will be okay, I promise."

"How do you know?"

_How_ do _I know?_ Danny shrugged, then pulled his wallet out of his pocket and flipped it so she could see his badge. "Because I'm a cop."

For a moment Emily looked as though she might scream, but Danny quickly placed a hand over her mouth.

"Emily," he said just a quietly as ever, "I need you to be very, very quiet. Your stepfather doesn't know I'm back here, and I'd like to keep it that way for as long as possible. If he finds out there's a cop in here, someone could get hurt, and I don't want that to happen. Do you?"

She shook her head negatively, and Danny removed his hand. As he placed his wallet in his pocket again, he heard sirens in the distance.

He looked in the direction of the parking lot, and saw that he could look through a section of the windows. He realized that his location would likely be impossible to spot from outside, and he wondered again if there was any way for him to stop Emily stepfather from hurting someone.

Danny was so engrossed in his thoughts that he barely noticed that Joy returned from the vault, handed the burlap bag to the gunman, and was ordered to join the other hostages on the floor. What captured Danny's attention was the fact that Emily was wrapping her arms around his waist. As he placed an arm around her shoulders, he heard her whisper something, and he had to lean in close to make out her words.

"I'm really scared, Danny. Please don't let him hurt me again."

It was then that Danny first took notice of Emily's arms and legs. He could see bruises barely showing beneath the fabric of her pink T-shirt and blue jean shorts.

"Emily, listen to me for a minute, okay? I don't have my gun with me today, so there's nothing I can do to stop him from what he's doing here at the bank. The cops that are outside - that's why they're here. Stopping your step dad is their responsibility."

"What's yours?"

Danny thought for a moment. "My responsibility to take care of you until this is over."

"How? Poppy knows about the cops outside, but he doesn't know about you."

_First things first, Williams. Try to get her to calm down._ "Well…let's think of this as sort of a game. You've played hide-and-seek haven't you? Whoever's 'It' has to find everybody that's hiding, right? Your step dad is 'It', and I don't want him to find out yet where I'm hiding."

xXxXx

Emily was silent as she pondered Danny's explanation. Then she whispered, "But how do we win? How do we get to home base?"

She looked at her new friend as he answered, "I don't know. I'm still trying to figure that out."

"Danny…where is home base?"

xXxXx

An image of Steve's face flashed in Danny's mind.

"My boss…home base is wherever my boss is."

xXxXx

Steve left his office hurriedly. Without stopping, he called, "Chin, Kono…let's go. We've got a hostage situation at a bank holdup."

The two Hawaiian men quickly exited their own offices without saying a word, knowing they'd get all the information they needed upon arrival.

As soon as the trio reached their destination, Steve went directly to a cop that was waving him over.

"Lieutenant, what's the status?" Steve wanted to know.

"It's not looking good, Steve," came the reply. "we haven't been able to make contact, so we don't know who he is, how many hostages he has, or what he wants. I have two of my men working through the license plates, in an effort to determine who's inside, but - "

Steve held up a hand to stop him. "Kono, go help them out; speed that job up a little bit. Chin, I hate to do this on his day off, but radio Danno; tell him to be on standby to come in."

They turned away to follow instructions, but paused and looked back when a sergeant came running up.

"Calling Danny won't do any good, Mr. McGarrett," he said. "One of the license plates we've just processed belongs to him. Danny's inside."

Steve turned his full attention to the sergeant. Surely he'd misunderstood the message. He took a deep breath, then stated, "Say that again."

The younger man pointed behind him. "His car is right over there, and there's no sign of him out here."

Even as Steve took off running toward the car, he felt as if all the wind had been knocked out of him. He reached Danny's vehicle and pounded the roof with both fists.

_Damn. The one day Danno goes into the bank, and it gets robbed. If anything happens to him -_

Steve quickly checked his temper. He knew Danny could take care of himself; he was too good a cop to let someone get the better of him.

Steve heard Chin call his name, and he looked in his direction.

"What's the plan, Steve?"

He glanced at the bank building before responding. "Danno's got a good head on his shoulders. He knows that as long as he keeps quiet about being a cop, there'll be less chance of someone getting hurt. He's fine right where he is - for now anyway. Go ahead with the license plate identification, Kono. Get back to me with a complete list as soon as you can. Chin, we've already got press representatives lined up; give them as little detail as possible - and leave Danno out of it. Lieutenant, get me a bullhorn. It's time to make contact."


	3. Chapter 3

Joshua Seamus felt beads of sweat making their way down his neck. He looked around the room at the frightened faces of his hostages.

He hadn't originally planned on taking hostages, but had changed his mind when he saw how busy the bank was. He also hadn't intended to bring Emily along for the ride, but the last thing he needed was for her to go over to her friend's house and accidentally say something about her bruises.

_And then for her to come into the bank after I specifically told her to stay in the car…when we get home, she's gonna get it._

Seamus looked toward the parking lot and saw the cops conferring with one another and preparing to form some sort of barricade against him. Before long they were going to start trying to negotiate with him, asking him to free the hostages in return for something.

What did he want? Freedom for his brother.

Seamus watched as a man in a navy blue suit carrying a bullhorn walk to the center of the line of police officers. Without moving from his spot in the middle of the lobby, Seamus focused his complete attention on what was happening outside.

xXxXx

Steve raised the bullhorn, trying to decide what he wanted to say. He knew there was any number of ways to get this guy to turn himself in without harming anybody, but first Steve needed to try and free the hostages.

He spoke into the horn. "This is Steve McGarrett, Hawaii Five-O. I'm speaking to the one holding the hostages. You've got innocent people in there with you, and it won't do you any good to keep them there. Let them go."

He waited a few moments, then tried again when there was no response. "I know you can hear me, and I want you to know that I don't plan on doing any further negotiations with you until those people are out of there. Do you understand me?"

xXxXx

Danny and Emily sat quietly behind the counter, listening to what Steve was saying. Danny closed his eyes and squeezed the bridge of his nose in frustration.

_Even if this guy lets the hostages go, there's no way he'd let Emily leave. And I can't get out of here without him finding out I was here all along._ He looked at Emily, who was laying down with her head on his lap. _What am I thinking? Even if I could sneak out of here, I can't leave Emily alone. As long as she's here, so am I._

Danny sighed as he realized that Steve had stopped talking and that there was no response out of the gunman. He looked in the direction of the parking lot, and could just barely see Steve and Kono talking to each other. He wondered if his vehicle had been discovered yet.

The thought of his car made Danny wonder something else. He motioned for Emily to sit up, then whispered, "Does your mother know you're here?"

She shook her head negatively. "No, she'd already left for the restaurant where she works when Poppy and I left the house."

Danny thought for a moment, then asked, "What's your stepfather's name?"

"Joshua Seamus."

xXxXx

Steve looked up from the list of license plates and owners Kono had given him. "Seamus' brother Ray was a drug dealer, and Danno testified against him in court a few months ago; that and plenty of other evidence was enough to send him to prison. Of all the hostage situations for Danno to get involved with, it had to be one where the gunman would have motive for wanting him dead."

"But it's like you said, Boss - Danny's got a good head on his shoulders. If Seamus knows who he is, Danny'll do everything he can to keep Seamus from doing something stupid."

Steve sighed. "And in the meantime, Danno's in there with a gunman and no backup. And we have no way of contacting him. Seamus is clearly not ready to negotiate, so you tell me, Kono. How do we get these people out without someone getting hurt?"

xXxXx

Seamus glanced around the room again as he thought about the proposition he'd been offered. In all honesty, he really had no used for the hostages; all he wanted was for his brother to be let out of prison.

_After all, those drug charges were a bunch of malarkey. What did that cop Williams know anyway? Ray had a family to support, same as me._

That was why he'd robbed those jewelry and liquor stores, though his wife didn't seem to understand that. She wanted him to be a do-gooder citizen and turn himself in.

Seamus' thoughts were interrupted by the Five-O detective outside.

"Seamus," he heard through the bullhorn, "you're not doing yourself any favors by holding onto those hostages. Let them go, and we'll talk."

So they knew who he was. Did they also know he was their "elusive cat burglar"? If Seamus let his hostages go, what were the chances of the cops rushing in and arresting him? By giving up the hostages, he might as well be giving up his freedom.

_No deal, McGarrett,_ Seamus thought to himself. _I'd rather leave Ray to rot in prison than to turn myself in._

That gave Seamus an idea. Why bargain for his brother's freedom, when what he really wanted was the cop that had sent Ray there in the first place?

He moved to the set of double doors and opened one just far enough to holler, "Here's the deal, McGarrett: You don't get a single hostage 'til you give me the cop that sent my brother to prison!"

xXxXx

Emily looked over at Danny, whose face had turned a pasty white. She put a hand on his arm and started to ask if he was all right, but before she was able to whisper anything, he put a finger to his lips.

He then leaned in close and whispered directly against her ear, "Emily, don't say another word until we get out of here. We have to be completely still and absolutely quiet. I'm the cop he's talking about, and if he finds out I've been here the whole time…this won't end well."

xXxXx

Danny knew he had to be brave for Emily, but his heart was pounding like a drum. He was totally defenseless without his gun, should Seamus find him back here.

If it weren't for Emily, Danny might have given himself up to Seamus. Except that…

_Except that Steve wouldn't want me to do that. He'd try and find another way out of this. God, I wish I had some way of communicating with Steve…let him know I'm in here. C'mon, Steve, give me some kind of clue as to what you're thinking._

xXxXx

_Give him the cop that…? Doesn't he know Danno's already in there?_ Steve thought.

To no one in particular, Steve stated, "Whether Seamus is aware of Danno's presence or not, I'm not about to leave those two alone in there. There has to be another way for me to get in there."

Chin Ho walked up to his boss with an elderly gentleman and said, "There is another way in, Steve. This is Mr. Edwin, the bank manager, and he has a key to the back entrance."

xXxXx

Upon hearing that his good friend Danny Williams was trapped inside, Mr. Edwin was more than willing to hand over his key. As he did so, he said, "Mr. McGarrett, Danny is a good boy. You take special care to get him out. Yes?"

xXxXx

Steve smiled as he nodded. "Yes."

He was told by the old man where to find the back entrance, and before heading that way, he said to Mr. Edwin, "Danno means a lot to me too. _Mahalo_ for your help, sir."

With that, Steve picked up a walkie-talkie and leaving the other with Chin, he went around back.


	4. Epilogue

Emily bit her lip in fear as she looked at Danny. He'd promised that everything would be okay, that he would take care of her. And what about the game? If her stepfather did something to hurt Danny, that would mean that he won the game, and that she and Danny lost. There had to be a way to get to home base; they just had to find their way to Danny's boss. But how?

Emily placed her small hand in Danny's hand, and as she did so, she happened to glance down the hall. A door had opened, and a man wearing a navy blue suit was carefully making his way inside.

With her free hand, Emily patted Danny's arm and pointed down the hall.

xXxXx

Even as he breathed a silent sigh of relief, Danny could barely believe his eyes. Steve had found another entrance and was making his way slowly down the hall. Just before entering the room, Steve went down on his hands and knees and crawled the rest of the way in.

xXxXx

Steve quietly sat beside his second-in-command, then realized that there was a little girl sitting on the other side of Danny. He tapped Danny's shoulder and pointed to the child.

Danny mouthed, "Emily…Seamus' stepdaughter."

Steve hadn't expected this. He needed to get the little girl out before anything else happened. Leaning in front of Danny, Steve whispered, "Emily, did you see the door I entered? I need you to leave by that same door. Right now."

He watched as Danny nodded his agreement and whispered, "It's all right, Emily. Go ahead."

The two men looked on as the little girl crawled down the hall, then Danny whispered. "Steve, I don't have my gun."

"Don't worry about it, Danno," Steve whispered back. "I won't let it get that far. Come on, stand up."

xXxXx

Danny didn't know what his boss had in mind, but he trusted Steve with his life. He took the walkie-talkie Steve offered him and watched as Steve removed his gun from its holster. Together they rose from the floor and turned to face the lobby.

xXxXx

Steve placed himself between Danny and Seamus. Holding the revolver out in front of him, he spoke.

"All right, Seamus. I've done what you asked. I've got Williams with me, so let these hostages go."

xXxXx

Seamus turned away from the windows and looked in the direction of the counter. Behind it was the man that had put his brother away.

_You're gonna get it, Williams. We was a team, me and Ray - and you split us up. Now you're gonna pay._

Paying no attention to the man between them or the gun Steve McGarrett held, Seamus ran toward the cop he hated, his own gun pointed out.

xXxXx

Steve had hoped to avoid this, but he had no choice. Quickly aiming, he pulled the trigger and fired his gun.

He hurried around the counter to where Seamus had fallen to the ground. As he felt for a pulse, he quietly told the hostages to leave the building, but to remain on the premises.

"Danno, radio Chin. Tell him to get an ambulance for Seamus - he's just barely alive. Then he and Kono, and probably a couple officers from HPD, need to start getting statements from the hostages."

xXxXx

Danny did as he was asked, then looked at Steve.

"What about the girl? Steve, I think he beat her."

Steve started to answer, but closed his mouth when he saw Emily rush into the room from the hallway, tears streaming down her face.

Danny got down on his knees and wrapped his arms around the little girl as she threw hers around his neck.

"Emily, I thought you were outside," he said a few moments later.

"I'd just gotten outside when I heard a gun go off," she answered. "Danny, I thought Poppy shot you."

Danny withdrew from the embrace and pulled a handkerchief from his pocket. He wiped away Emily's tears as he said, "No, honey, I'm fine. And you know what? The game's over. We won."

Emily smiled. "We did? We made it to home base?"

The sandy-haired cop glanced at his boss, then looked back at Emily. "No…home base made it to us."

xXxXx

Steve didn't know what Danny was talking about, but he was sure his friend would fill him in later. For the time being, it was enough that Danny - and every other hostage involved - was safe.


End file.
